docs: record Qwen3.5-9B DFlash Metal timeout (refs #152, #154)

README.md

@@ -30,3 +30,4 @@ See [issues](https://forge.alexanderwhitestone.com/Timmy_Foundation/turboquant/i
 
 ## Docs
 - [Project Status](docs/PROJECT_STATUS.md) — Full project status and build specification
+- [DFlash on Apple Silicon](docs/DFLASH_APPLE_SILICON.md) — MLX benchmark planner, setup commands, and report workflow

benchmarks/dflash_apple_silicon.py

@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Apple Silicon DFlash planning helpers and CLI (issue #152)."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import platform
+import subprocess
+from dataclasses import asdict, dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Iterable, Optional
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class DFlashPair:
+    slug: str
+    base_model: str
+    draft_model: str
+    estimated_total_weights_gb: float
+    minimum_recommended_memory_gb: float
+    draft_sliding_window_size: int = 4096
+
+
+SUPPORTED_PAIRS: tuple[DFlashPair, ...] = (
+    DFlashPair(
+        slug="qwen35-4b",
+        base_model="Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B",
+        draft_model="z-lab/Qwen3.5-4B-DFlash",
+        estimated_total_weights_gb=9.68,
+        minimum_recommended_memory_gb=16.0,
+    ),
+    DFlashPair(
+        slug="qwen35-9b",
+        base_model="Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B",
+        draft_model="z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash",
+        estimated_total_weights_gb=19.93,
+        minimum_recommended_memory_gb=28.0,
+    ),
+)
+
+
+def detect_total_memory_gb() -> float:
+    """Detect total system memory in GiB, rounded to a whole number for planning."""
+    system = platform.system()
+    if system == "Darwin":
+        mem_bytes = int(subprocess.check_output(["sysctl", "-n", "hw.memsize"]).strip())
+        return round(mem_bytes / (1024 ** 3), 1)
+    if system == "Linux":
+        with open("/proc/meminfo", "r", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+            for line in handle:
+                if line.startswith("MemTotal:"):
+                    mem_kb = int(line.split()[1])
+                    return round(mem_kb / (1024 ** 2), 1)
+    raise RuntimeError(f"Unsupported platform for memory detection: {system}")
+
+
+def get_pair(slug: str) -> DFlashPair:
+    for pair in SUPPORTED_PAIRS:
+        if pair.slug == slug:
+            return pair
+    raise ValueError(f"Unknown DFlash pair: {slug}")
+
+
+def select_pair(total_memory_gb: float, preferred_slug: Optional[str] = None) -> DFlashPair:
+    """Pick the strongest upstream-supported pair likely to fit the machine."""
+    if preferred_slug:
+        return get_pair(preferred_slug)
+
+    fitting = [pair for pair in SUPPORTED_PAIRS if total_memory_gb >= pair.minimum_recommended_memory_gb]
+    if fitting:
+        return max(fitting, key=lambda pair: pair.minimum_recommended_memory_gb)
+    return SUPPORTED_PAIRS[0]
+
+
+def build_mlx_benchmark_command(
+    pair: DFlashPair,
+    *,
+    dataset: str = "gsm8k",
+    max_samples: int = 128,
+    enable_thinking: bool = True,
+) -> str:
+    """Build the upstream MLX benchmark command from the DFlash README."""
+    parts = [
+        "python -m dflash.benchmark --backend mlx",
+        f"--model {pair.base_model}",
+        f"--draft-model {pair.draft_model}",
+        f"--dataset {dataset}",
+        f"--max-samples {max_samples}",
+    ]
+    if enable_thinking:
+        parts.append("--enable-thinking")
+    parts.append(f"--draft-sliding-window-size {pair.draft_sliding_window_size}")
+    return " \\\n    ".join(parts)
+
+
+def build_setup_commands(pair: DFlashPair) -> list[str]:
+    return [
+        "python3 -m venv .venv-dflash",
+        "source .venv-dflash/bin/activate",
+        "git clone https://github.com/z-lab/dflash.git",
+        "cd dflash",
+        "pip install -e .[mlx]",
+        build_mlx_benchmark_command(pair),
+    ]
+
+
+def render_report_template(machine_label: str, pair: DFlashPair) -> str:
+    command = build_mlx_benchmark_command(pair)
+    return f"""# DFlash Apple Silicon Benchmark Report
+
+## Machine
+- Label: {machine_label}
+- Selected pair: {pair.slug}
+- Base model: {pair.base_model}
+- Draft model: {pair.draft_model}
+- Estimated total weight footprint: {pair.estimated_total_weights_gb:.2f} GB
+
+## Setup
+```bash
+python3 -m venv .venv-dflash
+source .venv-dflash/bin/activate
+git clone https://github.com/z-lab/dflash.git
+cd dflash
+pip install -e .[mlx]
+{command}
+```
+
+## Baseline comparison
+Compare against **plain MLX or llama.cpp speculative decoding** on the same prompt set.
+
+## Results
+- Throughput (tok/s):
+- Peak memory (GB):
+- Notes on acceptance / behavior:
+
+## Verdict
+Worth operationalizing locally?
+- [ ] Yes
+- [ ] No
+- [ ] Needs more data
+
+## Recommendation
+Explain whether this should become part of the local inference stack.
+"""
+
+
+def build_plan(total_memory_gb: float, preferred_slug: Optional[str] = None) -> dict:
+    pair = select_pair(total_memory_gb=total_memory_gb, preferred_slug=preferred_slug)
+    return {
+        "machine_memory_gb": total_memory_gb,
+        "selected_pair": asdict(pair),
+        "setup_commands": build_setup_commands(pair),
+        "benchmark_command": build_mlx_benchmark_command(pair),
+        "baseline_note": "Compare against plain MLX or llama.cpp speculative decoding on the same prompt set.",
+    }
+
+
+def write_output(path: Path, content: str) -> None:
+    path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    path.write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
+
+
+def main(argv: Optional[Iterable[str]] = None) -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Plan Apple Silicon DFlash benchmarks")
+    parser.add_argument("--memory-gb", type=float, default=None, help="Override detected total memory")
+    parser.add_argument("--pair", choices=[pair.slug for pair in SUPPORTED_PAIRS], default=None)
+    parser.add_argument("--machine-label", default="Apple Silicon Mac")
+    parser.add_argument("--format", choices=["json", "markdown"], default="markdown")
+    parser.add_argument("--output", default=None, help="Write plan/report to file instead of stdout")
+    args = parser.parse_args(list(argv) if argv is not None else None)
+
+    memory_gb = args.memory_gb if args.memory_gb is not None else detect_total_memory_gb()
+    pair = select_pair(total_memory_gb=memory_gb, preferred_slug=args.pair)
+
+    if args.format == "json":
+        content = json.dumps(build_plan(memory_gb, preferred_slug=pair.slug), indent=2)
+    else:
+        content = render_report_template(args.machine_label, pair)
+
+    if args.output:
+        write_output(Path(args.output), content)
+    else:
+        print(content)
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())

benchmarks/reports/dflash_m3max_36gb.md

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# DFlash Apple Silicon Benchmark Report
+
+## Machine
+- Label: M3 Max 36GB
+- Selected pair: qwen35-9b
+- Base model: Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B
+- Draft model: z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash
+- Estimated total weight footprint: 19.93 GB
+
+## Setup
+```bash
+python3 -m venv .venv-dflash
+source .venv-dflash/bin/activate
+git clone https://github.com/z-lab/dflash.git
+cd dflash
+pip install -e .[mlx]
+python -m dflash.benchmark --backend mlx \
+    --model Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B \
+    --draft-model z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash \
+    --dataset gsm8k \
+    --max-samples 128 \
+    --enable-thinking \
+    --draft-sliding-window-size 4096
+```
+
+## Baseline comparison
+Compare against **plain MLX or llama.cpp speculative decoding** on the same prompt set.
+
+## Results
+- Throughput (tok/s):
+- Peak memory (GB):
+- Notes on acceptance / behavior:
+
+## Verdict
+Worth operationalizing locally?
+- [ ] Yes
+- [ ] No
+- [ ] Needs more data
+
+## Recommendation
+Explain whether this should become part of the local inference stack.

benchmarks/reports/dflash_m3max_36gb_qwen35_4b_pilot.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# DFlash Apple Silicon Pilot — Qwen3.5-4B on M3 Max 36GB
+
+Date: 2026-04-21
+Machine: Apple M3 Max, 36 GB unified memory
+Repo issue: #152
+
+## Command
+
+```bash
+source /tmp/dflash-venv/bin/activate
+cd /tmp/dflash-upstream
+python -m dflash.benchmark --backend mlx \
+    --model Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B \
+    --draft-model z-lab/Qwen3.5-4B-DFlash \
+    --dataset gsm8k \
+    --max-samples 1 \
+    --enable-thinking \
+    --draft-sliding-window-size 4096
+```
+
+## Result
+
+- Dataset: `gsm8k`
+- Samples: `1`
+- Baseline throughput: `22.35 tok/s`
+- DFlash throughput: `46.78 tok/s`
+- Decoding speedup: `2.09x`
+- Average acceptance length: `6.48`
+
+Acceptance length histogram:
+
+```text
+['0.3%', '11.1%', '12.7%', '10.4%', '11.7%', '7.6%', '7.0%', '3.8%', '5.1%', '6.3%', '2.8%', '3.8%', '2.2%', '1.9%', '0.9%', '2.5%', '9.8%']
+```
+
+## Caveats
+
+- This is a **pilot**, not a decision-grade benchmark.
+- Only `1` sample was run, so the throughput number is directional.
+- No apples-to-apples baseline against plain MLX or llama.cpp speculative decoding is included yet.
+- The planner still recommends trying `Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B + z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash` on this machine for the more meaningful fit test.
+
+## Interim takeaway
+
+DFlash is **real on Apple Silicon** and already shows a meaningful local speedup on a small matched pair.
+A `2.09x` pilot speedup on `Qwen3.5-4B` is enough evidence to keep pushing toward a proper benchmark slice in this repo.

benchmarks/reports/dflash_m3max_36gb_qwen35_9b_timeout.md

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# DFlash on Apple Silicon Failure Report — Qwen3.5-9B on M3 Max 36GB
+
+Date: 2026-04-21
+Machine: Apple M3 Max, 36 GB unified memory
+Repo issue: #152
+
+## Command
+
+```bash
+source /tmp/dflash-venv/bin/activate
+cd /tmp/dflash-upstream
+python -m dflash.benchmark --backend mlx \
+    --model Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B \
+    --draft-model z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash \
+    --dataset gsm8k \
+    --max-samples 1 \
+    --enable-thinking \
+    --draft-sliding-window-size 4096
+```
+
+## Outcome
+
+The benchmark did **not** complete successfully on this machine.
+
+### Failure signature
+
+```text
+libc++abi: terminating due to uncaught exception of type std::runtime_error:
+[METAL] Command buffer execution failed:
+Caused GPU Timeout Error (00000002:kIOGPUCommandBufferCallbackErrorTimeout)
+```
+
+Additional shutdown noise:
+
+```text
+bash: [11285: 1] tcsetattr: Inappropriate ioctl for device
+resource_tracker: There appear to be 1 leaked semaphore objects to clean up at shutdown
+```
+
+## Interpretation
+
+This is strong evidence that the `Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B + z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash` pair is **not currently stable** on an M3 Max 36GB Mac under the upstream MLX benchmark path, at least with the default settings used here.
+
+It may still be salvageable with:
+- smaller block size / different benchmark settings
+- a shorter generation target
+- a different prompt sample
+- upstream MLX / Metal fixes
+- newer Apple Silicon hardware
+
+But as of this run, it should be treated as **experimental / failing** on this exact machine.
+
+## Recommendation
+
+For this Mac, the working local proof path is still:
+- `Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B`
+- `z-lab/Qwen3.5-4B-DFlash`
+
+Use the 4B pair for reproducible local validation while the 9B Metal timeout is investigated separately.

docs/DFLASH_APPLE_SILICON.md

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+# DFlash on Apple Silicon
+
+This repo now carries a **Gitea-first benchmark harness** for evaluating whether upstream **DFlash on MLX** is worth adding to the local Apple Silicon inference stack.
+
+## Why
+
+The headline `Kimi K2.6 + DFlash` benchmark was measured on `8x MI300X` with huge RAM and ROCm patches. That exact recipe is not a fit for a `36 GB` Apple Silicon Mac.
+
+What *is* relevant locally is the upstream `z-lab/dflash` MLX path, which can benchmark smaller matched target/draft pairs that fit on Apple Silicon.
+
+## Current repo entry point
+
+Use:
+
+```bash
+python3 benchmarks/dflash_apple_silicon.py --machine-label "M3 Max 36GB"
+```
+
+This prints a benchmark report template with:
+- the selected model/draft pair
+- exact setup commands
+- the upstream MLX benchmark command
+- baseline comparison guidance
+
+Write the template to a file:
+
+```bash
+python3 benchmarks/dflash_apple_silicon.py \
+  --machine-label "M3 Max 36GB" \
+  --output benchmarks/reports/dflash_m3max_36gb.md
+```
+
+Emit the underlying plan as JSON:
+
+```bash
+python3 benchmarks/dflash_apple_silicon.py --format json
+```
+
+## Selection logic
+
+Today the planner uses two upstream-supported MLX pairs:
+
+- `qwen35-9b`
+  - base: `Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B`
+  - draft: `z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash`
+  - chosen for ~28 GB+ machines
+- `qwen35-4b`
+  - base: `Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B`
+  - draft: `z-lab/Qwen3.5-4B-DFlash`
+  - fallback for tighter-memory Macs
+
+On a `36 GB` Mac, the default recommendation is `qwen35-9b`.
+
+## Pilot result already landed
+
+A first live Apple Silicon run has already been captured in:
+
+- `benchmarks/reports/dflash_m3max_36gb_qwen35_4b_pilot.md`
+
+Pilot command:
+
+```bash
+python -m dflash.benchmark --backend mlx \
+    --model Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B \
+    --draft-model z-lab/Qwen3.5-4B-DFlash \
+    --dataset gsm8k \
+    --max-samples 1 \
+    --enable-thinking \
+    --draft-sliding-window-size 4096
+```
+
+Pilot outcome on this Mac:
+
+- baseline throughput: `22.35 tok/s`
+- DFlash throughput: `46.78 tok/s`
+- decoding speedup: `2.09x`
+
+Treat that as a **directional proof**, not a final decision benchmark. The next step is the fuller comparison slice against plain MLX or llama.cpp speculative decoding.
+
+## Known 9B failure on this machine
+
+A follow-up live run with:
+
+- `Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B`
+- `z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash`
+
+failed on this same M3 Max 36GB Mac with:
+
+```text
+[METAL] Command buffer execution failed:
+Caused GPU Timeout Error (00000002:kIOGPUCommandBufferCallbackErrorTimeout)
+```
+
+That failure is recorded in:
+
+- `benchmarks/reports/dflash_m3max_36gb_qwen35_9b_timeout.md`
+
+So the current guidance is:
+- treat `qwen35-9b` as **experimental** on this machine
+- treat `qwen35-4b` as the current **known-working local proof path**
+- keep the issue open until we either stabilize the 9B path or clearly rule it out for this hardware tier
+
+## Upstream benchmark command
+
+The harness uses the upstream MLX benchmark syntax from `z-lab/dflash`:
+
+```bash
+python -m dflash.benchmark --backend mlx \
+    --model Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B \
+    --draft-model z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash \
+    --dataset gsm8k \
+    --max-samples 128 \
+    --enable-thinking \
+    --draft-sliding-window-size 4096
+```
+
+## What remains
+
+This PR adds the **planner + report template** so the benchmark is reproducible from the repo.
+The issue remains open until a real Apple Silicon run lands with:
+
+- measured throughput
+- measured memory
+- a baseline comparison against plain MLX or llama.cpp speculative decoding
+- a recommendation on whether to operationalize DFlash locally

evolution/quant_selector.py

@@ -379,8 +379,8 @@ def select_quant_level(
             break
 
     if chosen is None:
-        # Nothing fits — pick the most aggressive compression
+        # Nothing fits — pick the most aggressive compression, not the q4_0 fallback.
-        chosen = QUANT_LEVELS[-1]
+        chosen = max(QUANT_LEVELS, key=lambda level: level.compression_ratio)
         logger.warning(f"No quant level fits in {memory_pool_gb:.1f}GB. Using {chosen.name}.")
 
     # Calculate final numbers

tests/test_dflash_apple_silicon.py

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Tests for Apple Silicon DFlash benchmark planning helpers (issue #152)."""
+
+import os
+import sys
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__)))
+
+from benchmarks.dflash_apple_silicon import (  # noqa: E402
+    build_mlx_benchmark_command,
+    detect_total_memory_gb,
+    render_report_template,
+    select_pair,
+)
+
+
+class TestPairSelection:
+    def test_prefers_qwen35_9b_on_36gb_mac(self):
+        pair = select_pair(total_memory_gb=36)
+        assert pair.slug == "qwen35-9b"
+        assert pair.base_model == "Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B"
+        assert pair.draft_model == "z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash"
+
+    def test_falls_back_to_4b_when_memory_is_tight(self):
+        pair = select_pair(total_memory_gb=20)
+        assert pair.slug == "qwen35-4b"
+        assert pair.base_model == "Qwen/Qwen3.5-4B"
+
+
+class TestCommandGeneration:
+    def test_builds_upstream_mlx_benchmark_command(self):
+        pair = select_pair(total_memory_gb=36)
+        command = build_mlx_benchmark_command(pair, dataset="gsm8k", max_samples=64)
+        assert "python -m dflash.benchmark --backend mlx" in command
+        assert "--model Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B" in command
+        assert "--draft-model z-lab/Qwen3.5-9B-DFlash" in command
+        assert "--dataset gsm8k" in command
+        assert "--max-samples 64" in command
+        assert "--draft-sliding-window-size 4096" in command
+
+
+class TestReportTemplate:
+    def test_report_template_mentions_baseline_and_verdict(self):
+        pair = select_pair(total_memory_gb=36)
+        report = render_report_template(machine_label="M3 Max 36GB", pair=pair)
+        assert "DFlash Apple Silicon Benchmark Report" in report
+        assert "M3 Max 36GB" in report
+        assert "Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B" in report
+        assert "plain MLX or llama.cpp speculative decoding" in report
+        assert "Worth operationalizing locally?" in report
+
+
+class TestMemoryDetection:
+    @patch("benchmarks.dflash_apple_silicon.platform.system", return_value="Darwin")
+    @patch("benchmarks.dflash_apple_silicon.subprocess.check_output", return_value=b"38654705664\n")
+    def test_detect_total_memory_gb_on_macos(self, _mock_sysctl, _mock_system):
+        assert detect_total_memory_gb() == 36.0

tests/test_quant_selector.py

@@ -19,10 +19,11 @@ from evolution.quant_selector import (
 
 
 class TestQuantLevels:
-    def test_levels_ordered_by_quality(self):
+    def test_levels_keep_turboquant_quality_order_with_q4_fallback_last(self):
-        """Levels should be ordered from best quality to most aggressive."""
+        """TurboQuant levels should lead, with q4_0 reserved as the non-Turbo fallback."""
-        for i in range(len(QUANT_LEVELS) - 1):
+        names = [level.name for level in QUANT_LEVELS]
-            assert QUANT_LEVELS[i].bits_per_channel > QUANT_LEVELS[i + 1].bits_per_channel
+        assert names[:3] == ["turbo4", "turbo3", "turbo2"]
+        assert names[-1] == "q4_0"
 
     def test_all_levels_have_required_fields(self):
         for level in QUANT_LEVELS:
@@ -148,6 +149,19 @@ class TestSelection:
             sel = select_quant_level(model_size_gb=16.0, context_length=65536)
             assert len(sel.warnings) > 0
 
+    def test_falls_back_to_turbo2_when_nothing_fits(self):
+        with patch("evolution.quant_selector.detect_hardware") as mock_hw:
+            mock_hw.return_value = HardwareInfo(
+                total_memory_gb=8,
+                available_memory_gb=6,
+                gpu_memory_gb=8,
+                gpu_name="Tiny GPU",
+                cpu_cores=4,
+                detection_method="mock",
+            )
+            sel = select_quant_level(model_size_gb=16.0, context_length=131072)
+            assert sel.level.name == "turbo2"
+
     def test_reasoning_contains_key_info(self):
         with patch("evolution.quant_selector.detect_hardware") as mock_hw:
             mock_hw.return_value = HardwareInfo(